need advice from anyone who has ever exclusively pumped

[rhii]

Our son was born two weeks early on the 16th. He's having trouble latching. We practice daily, but in the meantime I'm pumping for him and bottle feeding. I want to experience the bonding of nursing so badly but we just aren't there yet. Who knew something natural could be such a challenge for mom and baby?! Anyway I'm a young first time mom and struggling a little... I dont know the tricks to exclusively pumping. I've been Doing 15 min sessions every few hours. I don't empty them... am I supposed to? This is so exhausting, but I want our son to get b milk and I would like to bReastfeed, but if that doesn't work I need some tips on combating exhaustion and how to make the day a little easier. Thanks ladies

 

[Dk1234]

You should be emptying them and actually pumping for 5 mins after milks stops flowing. Good luck hun

 

[chevy4by]

We had troubles with latch, tongue tie, etc, so I have been exclusively pumping for 4 months now. The lactation consultant at the hospital had me pump for 20 min every 3 hours. It didn't matter when the milk stopped etc, I only ever did 20 min. Once my milk was "established", and after talking with a lactation consultant again, I started stretching out the time between pumping. I have been only pumping 4 times per day for the last month. I average over 60oz. per day this way. Its a lot of work, but breastmilk is best . Good luck!

 

[pachamama]

I've only ever pumped for 15 minutes at a time (per breast) - I use a double electric pump. I find limiting it to 15 minutes helps me with the mental strain of expressing, enabling me not to feel so tied down by it. I also now pump 3/4 times a day and average 42/46 ounces.

I also invested in a pumping bra - has completely transformed my life, as I can feed lo, reply to emails etc. I've also been known to make porridge for DS1 whilst expressing!

It's important that you make it work for you. Breast is definitely best, but you have to survive this mentally intact

x

 

[Dk1234]

The simple wishes hands free bra is amazing

 

[snowflakes120]

Yup, I agree with what they say!! I have 2 of the simple wishes hands free bras - they are awesome!! I've heard both ways - to pump 5 min after last drops of milk are flowing or just do a set time limit. I only do 20 minutes at a time no matter waht. In the beginning I was doing 30 minutes but the LC said that was too long.

I am pumping 7x a day with a double electric pump (Hygeia). I pump every 3 hours during the day and do 4 hours at night when we let him sleep for as long as he wants. I am getting 40+oz a day which is more than he needs. He eats 28-32oz a day so I am able to freeze a good bit too at the end of the day!

Good luck!

 

[Vanilla77]

With my first I expressed for 10 mins each side every 4 hours. The hospital had my daughter in a 4 hr routine before we left and I was expressing enough for just over a feed each time so I expressed to mimic her feeding patterns.

She was very small (4lb at birth) and it took her until she was about 8lb (10weeks) before she actually latched. I think she just needed to be bigger to breast feed as my boobs were huge in comparison to her to begin with. So don't stop trying - they'll get it eventually.

 

[hopingforit]

I pump until I am empty. It usually means I have 3-4 let downs which take 30 minutes at least but up to 1+ hours in the morning after nit pumping 12 hours. You do need to pump into empty because it can decrease your supply over time if you don't. I know being attached to a pump all the time is not fun but try to do something like watch TV or read while doing it so it feels easier. I pump 4xs per day, 2 during their naps, 1 when my DH watches them, and 1 before bed. It used to be 6-8xs day and night when they were born and I know sleep deprivation isn't fun when you have to pump either. You just have to figure out what works for you and your baby's schedule. It will get easier mentally as time hours on. It will just be a part of your daily routine that you don't even think about. In the meantime, continue working on latching because I do know bf is so much easier and takes less time. Had mine latched properly, I would have dinner that over pumping any day (pumping, feeding, washing bottles and pump parts, heating milk are all very time consuming but worth it). Good luck. Hopefully you get the hang of it soon.